As the complexity of semiconductor devices increases, more and more the use of “system-in-package” (SIP) device assemblies are being utilized. With increasing complexity of systems, SIPs are becoming more desirable than “system-on-chip” (SOC) because the cost with respect to function and time to market increase dramatically with complexity of the system. The growth in use of SIP devices is being driven by the price sensitive wireless, consumer and automotive markets.
Examples of devices being implemented as SIP devices include: cellular devices, PDAs, handheld devices, Bluetooth™ solutions, flash memory, image sensors, power amplifiers, GPS modules, and mini-SD (secure digital) devices.
A SIP device in one formulation may be a module that is a fully functional subsystem package comprising a substrate, one or more die, chip-level interconnects, integrated or surface-mounted passive and active components, and a protective casing.
A SIP device in another formulation may be a stacked-die assembly that utilizes a standard package incorporating two or more vertically stacked die, and chip-level interconnects on a substrate.
A SIP device in a further formulation may be a multi-chip module that utilizes a standard package incorporating two or more horizontally arranged die and chip-level interconnects on a substrate.
A SIP device in yet a further formulation may be a combination of standard prepackaged devices stacked vertically with package-level interconnects.
The use of SIP devices raises significant changes from a testing viewpoint. SIP devices place emphasis on the use of “known good die” before packaging. The product lifetime for SIP devices will become shorter. SIP devices provide much less access to testing points. High throughput testing is required for cost minimization. The demand is for low cost testing.
The use of “known good die” will most likely lead to the conclusion that there is little need to retest dies.
Less access to test points means that traditional final tests on SIP devices will not be possible.
The increasing use of SIP devices in consumer electronics leads to the conclusion that low testing cost is crucial.
For all these reasons, traditional automatic test equipment testing models are not the best approach for testing SIP devices.
Current automatic test equipment solutions that are low in cost have low test throughput. In addition, most of the automatic test equipment approaches utilize a separate handler that picks parts from processing trays and tests the picked parts.
It is desirable to provide a testing solution for SIP devices that does not utilize separate a handler separate from a tester.
It is also desirable to provide a testing solution that has a high throughput.
It is further desirable to provide a low cost testing solution that utilizes scalable handler and tester modules that are re-usable for different platforms.